NDC disowns OK Movement’s 59-member presidential campaign council ahead of 2027

The OK Movement has insisted that its 59-member Presidential Campaign Council remains fully intact and operational, despite the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) rejecting the team.In a statement issued on Friday, the movement’s National Director-General, John Ughulu, declared that the council would not be dissolved. He stressed that the Presidential Campaign Council does not require approval from NDC leadership or any party official.Ughulu was responding to NDC National Chairman Cleopas Moses, who had earlier disowned the council and urged the public and media to disregard it.The OK Movement Director-General maintained that the group operates independently, with its own leaders, principles and structure. He said the movement does not need endorsement from NDC National Leader Seriake Dickson or any other party figure to determine how it is run.“The OK Movement wishes to reaffirm, unequivocally, that its position remains unchanged. The Presidential Campaign Council structure already constituted and announced by the OK Movement remains valid and operational, irrespective of the position or opinion of any individual leader of the party or presidential candidate,” Ughulu stated.The OK Movement is a political support group backing the NDC’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, ahead of the 2027 general elections.    

The OK Movement says its 59-man Presidential Campaign Council is still intact. This is despite the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, rejecting the campaign team. In a statement on Friday, the National Director-General of the Movement, John Ughulu, said the council will not be dissolved. He said the PCC does not need approval from NDC leadership or […] 2027: Our campaign structure still intact – OK Movement dares NDC

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has disowned the OK Movement Presidential Campaign Council.Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday, Obi said he was not involved in the formation of the council.The OK Movement, under the leadership of John Ughulu, had set up the campaign council ahead of the 2027 general elections. NDC National Leader Seriake Dickson had earlier criticised the move, describing it as “nonsensical” and calling for the group to be restrained.Reacting, Obi said: “I’m not involved. The NDC is the political party we all belong to, and I agree entirely with the position of the leader.“OK Movement, Obidient, Kwankwasiyya and other groups are supporting groups. They must play their role as supporting groups supporting the party.“They should not play the role of the party. We found a situation where one of the supporting groups is using the nomenclature and forming a presidential campaign council. It shouldn’t be. No.”    

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, has disowned the OK Movement Presidential Campaign Council. Speaking during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time on Thursday, Obi said he was not involved in the formation of the council. Recall that the OK Movement, under the leadership of John Ughulu, set up […]  ‘I’m not involved’ – Peter Obi disowns OK Movement Campaign Council

The Obi-Kwankwaso Movement (OK Movement) has vowed to maintain its independence and resist pressure to collapse its structures into the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.Director-General of the movement, John Ughulu, dismissed remarks by NDC leader Senator Seriake Dickson, who had described the group’s decision to set up a presidential campaign council as “nonsensical.” Dickson argued that support groups should complement political parties rather than operate as parallel structures.Ughulu countered that the OK Movement is not a conventional support group but an independent political organisation with its own national, state, local government, and ward structures. He stressed that while the movement supports NDC candidates Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, it will not surrender its identity or administration.“The OK Movement will not be collapsed, merged or subsumed into the NDC or any other organisation. Cooperation and political alignment do not extinguish our independent identity,” Ughulu said.The dispute follows the NDC’s rejection of a 59-member presidential campaign council announced by the OK Movement. NDC Chairman Senator Moses Cleopas insisted the party had not authorised the council and warned that no group could establish campaign structures on its behalf without approval from the National Working Committee.In response, the OK Movement’s National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, demanded an apology, reiterating that the organisation has its own leadership and internal processes.Ughulu further warned against attempts to appropriate the movement’s structures, saying:“We respect the NDC and recognise its constitutional authority. But we will resist, through lawful and democratic means, any attempt to disenfranchise our members or redefine our identity.”The clash underscores growing tensions between political parties and independent movements as Nigeria heads toward the 2027 elections, with the OK Movement insisting it will continue mobilising support for Obi and Kwankwaso while retaining full autonomy.

 Seriake Dickson, national leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has berated the Obidient-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement over the controversy that trailed the 59-member presidential campaign council list of the group.   Speaking after a meeting of NDC stakeholders in Abuja on Tuesday, Dickson described the OK Movement’s decision to set up a campaign council as “nonsensical”.   During the meeting, Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), joined the NDC nearly four months after he quit the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on June 1.   On September 17, the OK Movement unveiled a 59-member committee, comprising zonal and state coordinators, as well as directors overseeing mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs, other areas.     The movement said John Ughulu, its director-general, and Saadatu Sani, the national secretary, would serve as the campaign council’s director-general and secretary, respectively.   OK Movement is a political group supporting Peter Obi, NDC presidential candidate, and Rabiu Kwankwaso, his running mate, for the 2027 election.   On September 19, the NDC leadership distanced itself from the campaign council constituted by OK Movement, saying the list did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded.     Reacting to the statement from the NDC, the movement said it does not require the approval of any individual within the party before exercising its legitimate organisational functions in accordance with established processes.   ‘SUPPORT GROUPS DON’T COMPETE WITH THEIR PARTY’   Speaking on the development, Dickson said as the name implies, support groups are expected to provide support for the political party sponsoring candidates.   The NDC national leader said support groups should not play the role of political parties, act as critics, or compete with the political party in which they belong.     “Support groups don’t compete with the political party that is sponsoring candidates. Support groups don’t compete for supremacy and space,” he said.   “Support groups are what they are — support groups. They don’t play the role of political party. They don’t sponsor candidates.   “They provide grassroots support and mobilisation. They don’t convert themselves to become critics of the political party sponsored. They don’t attack the political party sponsored.”   He added that every political party, including the All Progressives Congress (APC), has support groups.     “None of them (referring to support groups in other parties) will dare say they are setting up a presidential campaign council. It is unheard of. Nonsensical,” he said.   “And those who had a duty to educate and call people to order should do so.”     The NDC national leader said the party understands the roles of support groups, adding that the platform is ready to work with them.   He said he had held meetings with Obidient groups, adding that the more support groups within the NDC, the merrier.    

 The Obidient-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement says it does not require the approval of any individual within the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) before exercising its legitimate organisational functions in accordance with established processes.   In a statement on Sunday, Saadatu Sani, OK Movement national secretary, faulted the party’s rejection of the 59-member presidential campaign council set up by the Obi-Kwankwaso supporters.   OK movement is a political group supporting Peter Obi, NDC presidential candidate and Rabiu Kwankwaso, his running mate for the 2027 election.   On Thursday, the group unveiled the campaign council, with John Ughulu appointed as national director-general and Sani as national secretary.     However, in a statement issued on Saturday, Cleopas Moses, NDC national chairman, dissociated the opposition party from the purported presidential campaign council, and called on the public to disregard it.   Moses noted that the party’s candidates were subject to the authority and discipline of the NDC, adding that only its leadership could constitute and announce a presidential campaign council.   Sani urged NDC national chairman to familiarise himself with the party’s constitution before making unguided assertions.     She said while the movement recognises the supremacy of political parties within constitutional and statutory spheres, it remains an independent organisation with its leadership and internal processes.   She insisted that the movement would campaign for the NDC presidential and vice-presidential candidates, as well as other party candidates where it had resolved to support them.   “The OK Movement does not require the personal validation or approval of any individual before exercising its legitimate organisational functions in accordance with established processes,” she said.   Sani said the movement was established from the grassroots and did not depend on sponsorship from any individual or political office holder for its activities.     She further stated that the movement was not seeking political appointments or positions within the NDC as a condition for its support, saying its principles remained guiding values.   Sani said the movement had developed a nationwide grassroots structure, with internal membership records indicating approximately 2.5 million registered members and coordinators, supported by relevant data.   According to her, OK Movement is not a temporary support group created for an election cycle, but an organisation with philosophy, structure and long-term vision.   “We speak for Nigerians who are demanding a better political system, economic opportunity, accountability and a government that places citizens at the centre,” she said.     Sani also responded to allegations concerning Ughulu and his alleged involvement in the Lagos state primaries, saying the matter deserved clarification.   She said the movement would continue to defend members whenever their integrity was being questioned, while maintaining that it would not engage in personal insults or defamatory exchanges.     Sani called on the NDC national chairman to withdraw statements considered defamatory and tender an apology to the OK Movement and Ughulu.   “The OK Movement will not compromise its standards. The OK Movement will not surrender its independence. The OK Movement will not be intimidated,” she added.     Sani stated that the movement’s principles remained non-negotiable, stressing that its focus was on organisational values, independence, accountability and long-term objectives for Nigeria.

 The leadership of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has distanced itself from the 59-member presidential campaign council constituted by OK Movement, a support group for Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the party, and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso.   In a statement on Saturday, Cleopas Moses, NDC national chairman, said the list did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded.   On Thursday, the OK Movement unveiled a 59-member committee, comprising zonal and state coordinators, as well as directors overseeing mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs, other areas.   The movement said John Ughulu, its director-general, and Saadatu Sani, the national secretary, would serve as the campaign council’s director-general and secretary, respectively.     In a statement, Sani said the movement was not built around individuals seeking personal recognition but driven by the need to “mobilise Nigerians around the possibility of a better, more prosperous, united and functional Nigeria”.   ‘IT DID NOT EMANATE FROM NDC’   However, the party’s national chairman said the NDC was not involved in constituting the campaign council.     “The party hereby dissociates itself in totality from the said OK Movement PCC announcement. It did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded by the public and the media,” he said.   Moses noted that the party’s candidates were subject to the authority and discipline of the NDC, adding that only the party’s leadership could constitute and announce a presidential campaign council.   “All candidates of the party must appreciate that they are not running as independent candidates,” he said.   “They are products of the party and remain subject to the authority and discipline of the party.     “Therefore, only the party’s leadership can constitute and announce a Presidential Campaign Council.”   He warned members, candidates and support groups against undermining the party or operating structures in its name without approval.   “Henceforth, no individual or group is authorised to announce, constitute, or publish any campaign council, structure, or organ in the name of the party without prior approval from the National Working Committee (NWC),” Moses said.   He said the party appreciated the contributions of support groups but warned against operating as parallel structures.   “While the party will continue to work collaboratively with all support groups, such groups should not see themselves as alternative party structures or parallel organs of the party,” he said.   Moses also called on support groups and members to channel their grievances through the party’s internal mechanisms rather than resorting to public attacks.     The NDC national chairman said Ughulu would be referred to the appropriate disciplinary organ of the party over what he described as “his excesses during the primary election in Lagos state” and “repeated disregard for party authority”.  

The Nigeria Democratic Congress has disowned the 59-member Presidential Campaign Council announced by the Obi-Kwankwaso Movement for the 2027 elections. Read More: https://punchng.com/ndc-disowns-ok-movements-presidential-campaign-council-list/

No individual or group is authorized to announce, constitute, or publish any campaign council, structure, or organ in the name of the party The post NDC leadership disowns 59-member Presidential Campaign Council unveiled by Obi, Kwankwaso Movement appeared first on Vanguard News.